Nafion resin is synthesized via a two-step acid/base hydrolysis proces

Nafion resin is synthesized via a two-step acid/base hydrolysis process which is subsequently followed by a condensation process of alkoxysilane. Here, a 7.93-gram mass of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), a 2-milliliter de-ionized H₂O and half-milliliter of 5-Molar hydrochloric acid were mixed and stirred to give a clear product. A 2.5-milliliter solution of Nafion resin was then siphoned into the solution amid a stirring process. Later, to this solution, a 0.4-Molar sodium hydroxide solution was added gradually “until the mixture gelled to form a hard, solid mass that was slightly opaque.”^III The resulting product was then subjected to a 2-day drying process inside an oven at a temperature of 95^o C. This was then followed by a similar drying process but for a 24-hour period under a vacuum. The final product was then pounded into a fine powder, re-acidified inside a 40-milliliter hydrochloric acid (3.5 Molar) and subsequently washed using de-ionized H₂O. This process was replicated 5 times, and later, subjected to a 24-hour period of vacuum-drying process at a temperature of 95^o C. This final process resulted in the formation of the Nafion resin nanocomposite product. For the sake of the ensuing analyses, six products of Nafion resin were developed by varying the percentage compositions of both TEOS and Nafion resin solution. As such, Nafion resin “products with 5, 13, 20, 40 and 60% Nafion resin solution were developed.”^III These products were denoted as NR/S-Xs, with X representing the degree of Nafion resin solution in the product.